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Thursday, May 1, 2008
More To Come
Collin County, TX
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McKinney’s record-breaking season fell short of the state soccer tournament. but coach Alan Pocock believes the Lions’ best is yet to come
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Last year, we started from scratch defensively. We determined that our best defense would be to have to an attacking offense and it made life easier for our keeper.
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It was another rock-solid year for the McKinney boys’ soccer team. The Lions finished 22-3 overall, setting a school record for wins and were 16-2 in District 15-4A. They dominated their first two playoff games by a combined score of 10-0 but fell in a shootout to The Colony in the 4A Region II Quarterfinal. Coach Alan Pocock is disappointed with how their ’08 season concluded, but he knows that the future is bright.
HSSTM: How do you look back on the season?
Pocock: I have mixed emotions about it. I’m pumped about the guys stringing together four playoff appearances in a row. This is our second-deepest playoff run. We set a season record for wins and shutouts. We seemed to have the whole package but my heart was broken for the guys to not be advancing to a semifinal matchup that I believe we could have won.
HSSTM: Discuss how tough that loss was to The Colony.
Pocock: We played well. We had dozens of opportunities behind their defense and our game plan worked perfectly. We didn’t find the back of the net but our possession, teamwork and unselfish play to beat their system was remarkable. We were more determined with our leading goal scorer, London Woodberry, out the last 30 minutes with a hurt shoulder. The guys kept their composure and kept chipping away. That’s what is interesting about the game of soccer. There are no guarantees and anything can happen.
HSSTM: How does your team look for 2009?
Pocock: Despite graduating 14 seniors, we still look solid up the middle of the field. I think the guys can keep their heads up to see that we are returning a core of very seasoned, playoff-experienced players. Our JV went undefeated this year and only gave up three goals all season. There are several players from that group that I would like to see on varsity. They might have possibly joined us late in the season but I didn’t have any jerseys left.
HSSTM: Who are some of those JV players who could have an impact next year?
Pocock: Connor Davenport could start in goal. Enrique Moreno has a solid left foot, is a strong defender and played in the first-round playoff game. I like what I’ve seen from Michael Lieber, who could bring us some good size and skill at midfield or forward. Erik Mendoza is a freshman that plays like an upperclassman. I like some things that I saw from Jose Hernandez. I would like to see if we could get some good contributions from Michael Widener. He’s a very strong player who has good speed. He and Cody Wenzel might factor in the midfield.
HSSTM: Your 2008 team was one of the area’s highest scoring and toughest to score on. How did you achieve such balance?
Pocock: Last year, we started from scratch defensively. We determined that our best defense would be to have to an attacking offense and it made life easier for our ’keeper. We had defenders who take care of their responsibilities but can join in the attack and start a counterattack. To go through the entire season and to only give up nine goals in 25 games is a record for us. It speaks to the well-balanced squad that we fielded.
HSSTM: Last year, Frisco bounced you from the playoffs in the area round. This year, your team handed them a 4-0 defeat in the postseason. How rewarding was that?
Pocock: I was really confident going into that game. We found ourselves in the same round against them for the second straight year and they were the district champs. They had a week to rest and recover from Dallas Cup while we were trying to balance playing our Dallas Cup players with the playoffs. We passed that test and what better stage to do that on than at Pizza Hut Park? Everybody talked about how Frisco would kill you with possession but we broke that up, combined well and focused on our game plan. We wanted to send a message to our playoff opponents in that game and we did.
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